Posted on October 15, 2013 11:12:33 PM
[ BusinessWorld Online ]
PROPERTY DEVELOPER Ayala Land, Inc. is
banking on partnerships to speed up its growth, the company said in a statement
yesterday.
“Ayala Land… continues to look for partnership opportunities across the
country to accelerate expansion amid the continuing robust growth of the
Philippine economy that is fueling demand for real estate products,” the
company said.
The economy expanded by 7.6% in the
first semester from 6.4% a year ago.
Bernard Vincent O. Dy, the firm’s
chief operating officer, said joint ventures will allow Ayala Land to
“accelerate its expansion while preserving its capital resources and minimizing
development risk.”
“If you look at our history, a lot of
our expansion was mostly done through partnerships, starting with the Madrigals
for the development of Ayala Alabang, then with the Yulo family for Nuvali [in
Laguna], the Florendos for Abreeza in Davao, and with the Campos group and BCDA
(Bases Conversion and Development Authority) for Bonifacio Global City,” Mr. Dy
was quoted in the statement as saying.
Ayala Land also teamed up with the Cua
family for Circuit Makati; the Lacson family for Ayala North Point in Negros
Occidental, and the Pison Group for the Atria project in Iloilo City. The
company said “more partnership agreements [are] currently under negotiation.”
“With partnerships, we are able to
optimize use of capital and at the same time reduce risk, allowing us to expand
in a quicker way while minimizing the strain on our balance sheet,” the
statement quoted Jaime E. Ysmael, Ayala Land’s chief financial officer, as
saying.
Ayala Land previously partnered with
the Store Specialists, Inc. for its department store venture, and another deal
with the Tantoco family to bring in Family Mart convenience stores from Japan.
In the second quarter, the company
signed a deal with Puregold Price Club, Inc. for the establishment of
supermarkets.
It also entered the health care
business through a joint venture with the Mercado Group, which owns Mercado
General Hospital, Inc.
“More partnerships will soon come out
of the pipeline as Ayala Land expects demand for real estate products to
continue growing on the back of the rapid growth of the Philippine economy,”
the statement read.
Ayala Land ended the first half with a
net income of P6.62 billion, up 23.28% from P5.37 billion earned in the same
six months last year.
The same comparative periods saw revenues
rising 35.67% to P36.63 billion from P27.0 billion and cost and expenses
increasing by 39.00% to P27.51 billion from P19.79 billion.
Shares of Ayala Land shed 10 centavos
or 0.33% to close P29.90 apiece on Monday from P30.00 each on Friday last week.
Philippine financial markets were
closed yesterday in observance of the Eidul Adha Muslim holiday. -- C. H. C.
Venzon
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